Autism assessment.
Autism spectrum disorder assessment for children and adolescents through Kids' Dr, based at Sans Souci. Assessment is a structured process led by your paediatrician, drawing on your knowledge of your child, information from school, and clinical review. Time to explore what's happening, not a snap judgement.
Understanding your child, not applying a label.
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that shapes how a person communicates, experiences the sensory world, and connects with others. It looks different in every autistic person. Assessment is a considered process that seeks to understand your child, not just to apply a label.
Kids' Dr paediatricians assess for autism as part of broader developmental paediatric care. Dr Martina Popelkova takes a special clinical interest in autism spectrum disorder among other behavioural matters. Dr Moe Moe Thinn is a Consultant Developmental and General Paediatrician.
Some families come to Kids' Dr with autism as the primary concern. Others come with more general developmental questions where autism turns out to be part of the picture. Either way, assessment considers the full developmental profile rather than a single diagnosis in isolation.
A team around your child.
Your paediatrician walks through your child's development from the early years — current concerns, family history, education setting, and any allied health involvement to date.
Questionnaires completed by parents and teachers give a structured view of how your child is going across different environments. Consistency across settings matters for diagnosis.
Your paediatrician observes and interacts with your child, and for younger children play-based observation forms part of this — often alongside our speech pathologist or psychologist, so social communication is seen by more than one clinician.
Our speech pathologist assesses language and social communication, and our psychologists carry out standardised autism-specific assessment — tools such as the ADOS-2 and MIGDAS-2 — along with cognitive and adaptive testing. This is a core part of a thorough assessment, not an afterthought.
Autism often coexists with ADHD, anxiety, learning differences and sensory processing differences. Our psychology team helps screen for these, so the assessment sees the whole child rather than one diagnosis in isolation.
A written summary and a plan.
A clinical letter documenting the assessment, findings and recommendations. This letter is used to access supports, communicate with school, and inform future professionals involved in your child's care.
This may include allied health input, school communication, family support resources, and follow-up review.
For children where the assessment leads to a diagnosis or ongoing developmental questions, review appointments help track progress and address changes over time.
Kids' Dr takes a neurodiversity-affirming approach. That means we understand autism as a way of being, not something to be fixed. Our psychologists come from a Department of Education background and our counsellor works specifically with young children experiencing trauma. Support focuses on what helps your child thrive, at their own pace.
From diagnosis to support.
Applying for a plan. For children who receive an autism diagnosis, the paediatrician's assessment letter is one of the documents used to apply for NDIS support. Your paediatrician can talk through what NDIS access typically involves and where you are in the process. Kids' Dr can guide you on next steps but does not manage NDIS applications on your behalf.
Using your plan with us. Once your child has an NDIS plan, our allied health team — speech pathology, psychology and counselling, physiotherapy, dietetics and podiatry — can provide the therapy supports your plan funds. We welcome self-managed and plan-managed participants: self-managed families pay and claim back through the NDIS, and for plan-managed families we invoice your plan manager directly. As we're not a registered NDIS provider, we're unable to work with agency-managed (NDIA-managed) plans, which can only use registered providers. NDIS-funded appointments are billed at NDIS price-guide rates — reception will set this up when you book.
School supports. For school-related supports (integration funding, accommodations, disability funding), the assessment letter is a key document for the application, which is made through your school.
Sans Souci and Earlwood.
Privately billed.
Paediatric consultations are privately billed. A GP referral is required for the Medicare rebate to apply. Without a valid referral in place, the consultation is fully private.
Longer initial assessment appointments may have a different fee structure from standard review appointments. Reception confirms the specific fees at booking.
Common questions.
Do I need a referral?
Yes. A GP referral is required for the Medicare rebate to apply to paediatric consultations.
How long does an autism assessment take?
Assessment usually involves more than one appointment. Your paediatrician confirms the specific process at your first visit.
Will my child definitely be diagnosed?
No. Assessment is an evaluation, not a foregone conclusion. Some children are diagnosed with autism, some are diagnosed with a different condition, and some are found to have developmental variation within the typical range.
What if my child has already been assessed elsewhere?
Bring any existing reports to your first appointment. Kids' Dr can provide ongoing paediatric care for children previously assessed by another provider.
Does Kids' Dr manage NDIS applications?
No. Kids' Dr provides the clinical assessment and letter that supports an NDIS application, but the application itself is made through the NDIS.
Once your child has an NDIS plan, our allied health team can provide therapy supports for self-managed and plan-managed participants. We're not a registered NDIS provider, so we're unable to work with agency-managed (NDIA-managed) plans, which can only use registered providers.
What if I'm not sure whether autism is the right question?
Book anyway. Assessment for autism sits within broader developmental paediatric care. If autism turns out not to be the picture, your paediatrician will explore what is.
